The Hanshin Tigers want a chance to speak directly with Chihiro Kaneko (31), but were told by his agent that he will only meet with the top teams. The Tigers believe that means they will have to one of a handful of teams remaining after Kaneko narrows down his options. The Tigers are expected to offer a three-year deal, but could also go to four years. Source: Sponichi 12/18/2014 ... The Tigers could offer Kaneko two kinds of multi-year deals: a two-year contract with posting and a longer term contract that could go up to four years. They could also offer the uniform number eighteen. Source: Sports Hochi 12/18/2014 ... The Tigers understand they may have to revise their offer a number of times before reaching an agreement. Source: Daily Sports 12/18/2014

The media learned on Wednesday that the Yakult Swallows received a list of protected players from the Yomiuri Giants on Monday. The Swallows are planning to make a decision on their compensation for losing Ryoji Aikawa after Lotte and Nippon Ham decide on their compensation for Yoshihisa Naruse and Keiji Obiki. Source: Sanspo 12/18/2014, Sponichi 12/18/2014

The Chiba Lotte Marines are still hoping to decide on their compensation for losing Yoshihise Naruse before the end of the year. Source: Sanspo 12/18/2014